


Until Death Do Us Part

by SoriSeeraKyra



Series: The Vows of Marriage [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Cheating, Crying, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Heartache, Makeup, Ups and downs of Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 13:03:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11898303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoriSeeraKyra/pseuds/SoriSeeraKyra
Summary: It can be hard to forgive and its not a given that a person can forget, but you there is definitely a path to healing.





	Until Death Do Us Part

“Just sign the goddamn papers, Bruce,” She hissed from across the table and it caused the man to look up slightly startled.

 

He’d been reading the thin lines of the contract in front of him and found his eyes stuck on the highlighted portions that had a large ‘X’ where his name was supposed to go.  When he married her all those years ago he hadn’t imagined that they’d be sitting here in one of his- no _their_ conference rooms pounding out the terms of their divorce.

 

He glanced up into the deep pools of his wife’s eyes and noted how coldly she regarded him, and how much that hurt. Her eyes had aged, she had aged and realized that he wasn’t the superhero she thought he was when she’d married him. He remembered how wide-eyed and innocently she regarded everything he did until recently. Even when she had assumed the role of motherhood she never lost the youth that had shined in her eyes. It was probably why she got along with all of the children so well. She related to them in a way that he never could.

 

Her full lips pulled down into a frown as she narrowed her eyes at him, she thought he was stalling, and truthfully, he was. He’d seen so much less of her in the past months. He respected her wishes and had not come to bother her at the penthouse, not even when he was on patrol. The boys had taken it upon themselves to check around the building whenever they were out so he was confident that she was safe. When she would occasionally come by the manor, mainly to drop Damian off or to bring baked sweets she’d make for the boys and Alfred, he’d watch her from the monitors in the bat cave. He hadn’t the courage to go and face her, the thought of it nearly made his hands shake. He didn’t know if he would be able to handle her rejection.

 

“Why are you making such a big deal out of this?” She asked after another tense silence. “All I want is the penthouse. You know I don’t want any of the company, your money, or that house. Just sign them so we can move on already.”

 

Bruce looked at her pleading form and he bit the inside of his cheek resolute in his decision.

 

“You know I’d give you anything you want,” he says as he picks up the papers from the desk and straightens them, before slipping them back into the manila envelope. “But I can’t do this.”

 

When the words leave his lips both his lawyer and wife let out an audible groan while her lawyer perks up at the implication.

 

“You want to take this to court, Mr. Wayne?” The woman, Ms. Thompson, if he remembered correctly, asks. “You know that can be bad for you.”

 

He glanced at the dark-haired woman, her brow furrowed in faux concern. However, even as she forced her brown cheeks not to lift in excitement, she was doing a poor job at keeping her lips from curling into a smile.

 

“She’s right Mr. Wayne,” Clarence Paige, his lawyer, nodded, his gray hair standing slightly on end. “No pre-nup, she’s worked here on your behalf for years, and she had to give up her own career. The judge will say that you impeded her ability for independence, they’ll give her half.”

 

“That’s fine,” Bruce says leaning back as he watches the others in the room react to the news. He lets a charming smile curl across his face as his wife regards him skeptically. “I don’t plan on getting divorced.”

She doesn’t react to the statement at first, he isn’t sure she comprehended what he was saying, and when it clicks the skin around her nose scrunches in irritation, and he can’t help but chuckle.

 

“This isn’t funny, Bruce,” she says arms stretched wide across the table trying to keep from getting angry. “Paige, Thompson, why don’t we continue this next week. My break isn’t much longer and I’m sure that Mr. Wayne has, I don’t know, _something_ that he needs to do.”

 

That stung a little.

 

The lawyers look at each other, Thompson stands and gathers her items.  Paige looks at Bruce and Bruce nods at him in dismissal. He stands as well clearing up his files. Paige holds out a hand for Bruce to shake, and he does. The older man exits the room. Thompson stops when she’s next to his wife, the lawyer squeezes her shoulder in reassurance and the woman gives her a warm smile. When the door closes behind the lawyers, the smile falls from his wife’s lips.

 

She lets out a sigh and gives him a glare, “You’re being ridiculous, Bruce. This isn’t a game.”

 

“I didn’t think it was,” he says with a raised eyebrow.

 

“I’ll take this to trial if I have to,” she tries.

 

“No, you won’t.”

 

“And, why wouldn’t I?” She says with a furrowed brow, eyes like steel. She’d definitely learned that in board meetings. There were times she couldn’t even fake being mad at the children, even when they royally screwed up.

 

“We aren’t getting divorced,” he says with a shrug. He watches as a stunned expression crosses her face quickly, but she covers it. He stands and straightens his suit jacket.

 

“For what reason would I stay with you?” She asked.

 

“You love me, like I lov-”

 

“You don’t love me, Bruce.” She says holding a hand up to pause him in his sentence. She shakes her head as if she was trying to get horrible thoughts from her head. “You don’t, you wouldn’t have done this otherwise. You wouldn’t.”

 

He watches as tears filled her eyes and instinctively he moves around the table to be by her side. He pulls his handkerchief from his pocket, and she takes it. She dabs at the corners of her eyes before her make-up can run.

 

“I can’t do this, Bruce,” she says as she stands. “Just sign the papers, do this for me. You said you’d give me anything, give me this.”

 

“I can’t,” he says honestly.

She looks at him, stares into his eyes for what seems like hours but can’t be more than thirty seconds, and then looks away. Bruce backs away from the table as she pushes her chair back to stand.

 

He can’t help but let his eyes run down her figure when she does. She was always stunning, even when she wasn’t trying, and it slightly bothered him that her work attire made it seem like she was attending one of his parties. The black vertical panels on the side of her dress cinched at her waist beautifully while the beige front and back complimented her skin tone and gave her a more professional look.

 

She grabbed her brief case and swung her coat over her arm. She checked her watch and let out a sigh.

 

“Because of you, I’m late for a meeting with the board about the funding for R&D” she says with pursed lips. “Any requests?”

 

“Unlimited funding, is that possible?”

 

She almost lets a smile past her lips, almost. “I’ll see what I can do.”

 

He watches as she pulls open the heavy door that leads out of the conference room. She pauses.

 

“Bruce, please,” she looks back at him with pleading eyes. “Do this for me. So, I can move on and you can be with her.”

 

“I don’t want her, I want you.”

 

“You already had me, you chose her.”

 

He doesn’t get a chance to respond as she whisks away through the door. He can hear her heels click down the hall the further away from him she goes.

 

He squeezes his fists in exasperation then removes his phone from his breast pocket. He dials a familiar number and waits.

 

“Alfred, can you do something for me?”

 

***

You’d grown used to the taste of wine and it no longer burned when it hit the back of your throat. Still, you tried not to drink in front of the children, it’d only lead them to fawning over you and treating you like a baby chick needing to be protected.

 

Setting the glass down over your nightstand, you watched from your bedroom window as the sun finally set and the last of the pinks and reds of dusk had finally faded away. As the darkness rushes in you hit the button on a remote and blackout curtains slowly descend over the large glass paned window.

 Your eyes flicker over to the clock on the nightstand and watch as the red lines blink ‘7:45 P.M.’ at you. Another heavy sigh pulls its way out of your lips as you flop down on the gray comforter of your plush bed. It wasn’t really your color, but it still smelled like him and it helped you sleep.

 

You were alone tonight, save for your maid Olivia, highly recommended by Alfred, paid for by an _anonymous_ employer. It was the middle of the week, and none of your family would be by to visit you until the weekend.  Most nights like this you busied yourself with menial paperwork that you didn’t have to do, but that you needed to do in order to keep your mind busy. Other nights when you were feeling good, you worked on your designs for fashion line.  Tonight, however, you were mentally exhausted. Every time you saw him and a smile found its way to his lips, your heart fluttered like you were still a teenager talking to your first crush. You could almost feel your throat tighten up in anxiety. To make matters worse, when you know that you can’t avoid him you still chose things to wear that you knew he’d like. On days like that you scold yourself, you know how stupid it is. He chose her and you chose this.

 

There were nights when you wondered if there was something about you that you could have changed that would have kept him entertained, kept his wandering eye in check, but every time you think it, the stronger part of you pushes the thought away. You and Selina were nothing alike. You didn’t look alike, speak in the same way, or have the same interests. You had never been the exciting or dangerous girl that had an air of mystery about her, that isn’t why Bruce married you, so that couldn’t have simply been the reason he cheated. If your crime had been any in this mess it would have been that you were naïve. Naïve enough to think that the emotional bond between Selina and Bruce would never amount to anything, even though it was the same type of bond that opened him up to you and brought you together.

 

You supposed that was the worst part. Aside from the lying, what Selina and Bruce had, wasn’t just physical, he _cared_ for her and you were sure she cared for him. Something deep like that wasn’t something that he could just cut off. He couldn’t just stop caring for her the same way you couldn’t stop loving him. There would always be a part of him that would yearn for her and you wanted that part to be completely and utterly yours. If you couldn’t have it, there was no point in holding out hope for him.

 

“Ma’am,” a voice calls from your bedroom door.

 

“It’s fine, Olivia come in.”

 

The door to your bedroom pushes open and the dim lights in the room are made brighter by her movement. You stand and motion to the back of your dress.

 

“Can you help me?”

 

“Of course.”

 

You hear the small feet housed in her kitten heels clack gently as she makes her way over to you. Within in seconds her small but strong hands have your zipper pulled down and the dress is pooling at your waist. You plop down again and you use your feet to wildly pull off your feels. They fling to different parts of the room and Olivia sighs in irritation.

 

“Sorry,” you say looking at her sheepishly.

 

“It’s quite alright, Ma’am” she says with a polite smile, but she’s scolding you with her stern green eyes. “I have something for you.”

 

“Oh?”

 

She pulls an envelope out of the large pocket of her dress and she presses the envelope into your waiting hand.

 

“It’s beautiful,” you say in slight awe as you run your fingers over the gold cursive lettering of your name.

 

“It was slipped under the door,” she comments.

 

“I bet it was,” you say with pursed lips, “I told him not to come.”

 

“I see.”

 

You look at the older woman and she raises a pale blonde eyebrow at you and you say, “I’m nervous.”

 

“Understandable, just remember that you are the one with the leverage. Where you go from here is all dependent on what you decide.”

 

“I’ve never had to lead before, Bruce always did,” you admit. “Even at the company I’m just filling in a blueprint that was laid out for me.”

 

“And yet no one is better at it then you are. Without you, where would Wayne Enterprises be?”

 

“In the gutter, or at least out of our- the family.”

 

“It seems to me that you’ve been leading perfectly well until now.”

 

“Thanks,” you say with a small smile.

 

“You are more than welcome.”

 

You flip the envelope over and slide your finger over the of cream colored paper. When the seal is broken, you pull the contents from the envelope.

 

“It an invitation,” you state reading the letter. “To a party.”

 

“For what occasion?”

 

“For me,” you say biting you lip as you feel you heart swell.

 

“When?”

 

“This Friday,” you say looking up at the older woman with childlike curiosity. “Should I go?”

 

“Do you want to go?”

 

“Yes and no.”

 

“Why the no?”

 

“I can’t think when I see him and every time I think about what he did I get angry or I cry or both. It’s awful.”

 

“And the yes.”

 

“Bruce throws the best parties,” you admit with a sigh. “And it’s for _me_. And even though I hate it, for the moment when I first see him I forget what he did and I can feel my heart pounding in my ears. A night like this, where I’m not trying to leave him, it maybe the last time I see him before we don’t mean anything to each other and we are just co-workers.”

 

“You should go,” Olivia says after a pause. “If it’s to say goodbye let it be that, if it’s not let it be the first night you let the both of you begin to heal.”

 

“I…Alright.”

 

“Excellent,” she says and she’s quickly out of your room.

 

“Olivia?” You question at her suddenness.

 

“Here we are,” she says as she brings a large box and places it on your bed.

 

You examine the large black box, there is no title, nothing significant about the box and your heart pounds in your chest. He has done things like this before, and it’s always something that makes you swoon.

 

You tentatively lift the lid of the box and you were right to worry that you would swoon. From what you could see of the dress it was cream colored and covered in jewels and had a sweetheart neckline. You frown and close the box.

 

“Ma’am?” She questions at your rejection.

 

“I can’t wear this,” you say a sad smile pulling at your lips. “It’s too much lik-, I just can’t.”

 

“Well then we need to go shopping.”

***  

He’s nervous and for the first time since he was a pre-pubescent teen he could feel his palms sweat. The worse thing about her not talking to him and not being able to go to the penthouse was that he wasn’t sure if she would actually come. That would leave him alone in this giant concert hall looking like a fool in front of the caterers and musicians that he hired.

 

“Sir?” A familiar voice called and Bruce turns around to see the raised eyebrow of the man who raised him.

 

“She’s not going to come Alfred,” Bruce says dejectedly. “I can feel it, this is a mistake.”

 

“Sir I-”

 

“I should have just gone to see her, begged for her to listen.”

 

“I don’t think it’s necessary sir,” Alfred interrupts.

 

“She’s here?” Bruce questions with furrowed brows.

 

“Her car has just pulled up to the front of the venue.”

 

“It’s time for the lights then,” Bruce says straightening his shoulders to regain his composure.

 

“Very well, sir.”

 

The moment that Alfred disappears behind a pair of curtains the lights in the hall dims and Bruce can see almost nothing save for a lone spotlight pointed at the entrance. In that darkness, he’s forced to wait for a pair of agonizingly long pair of minutes until he can see the point of her shoe come through the threshold.

 

He has to keep himself from gaping when he sees her. He quickly notes that she’s not wearing the dress he picked out and it makes him question whether or not she enjoyed his taste anymore. She always wore the gowns that he picked out. However, the thoughts are quickly removed from his mind when he gets the full scope of her. The dress is a sinful red with a pair of matching shoes. It’s a sleek straight cut dress with a slit that goes up to a little above her mid-thigh. Her hair seems glossy even with the harsh light that is shining on her trying to drain it of its color. The dark jewels and make-up give her a more adult vibe then what he is used to seeing from her and he realizes that she’s different. Different then the slightly childish young woman that he married, and that despite all the things that she had done up until that point he’d never seen her as such.

 

“Bruce?” she questions raising a hand to block the light. “What’s going on?”

 

“You’re the guest of honor,” he says with a smile as he begins to approach her.

 

She walks forward and when the two of them meet the lights are back to normal and she’s able to take in the full beauty of the concert hall.

 

Cleared of seats, the floor was covered in a large amount of vibrant gold confetti. The walls painted with flowers, cherubs, and other heavenly hosts were decorated with white curtains and gold accents. The familiar tones of songs from years past floated through her ears and suddenly she can fill herself being transported to a time before all of the drama had begun.

 

“This is-,” she pauses looking at the building. “You’ve recreated the whole thing.”

 

“Yes,” he says with a smile as he watches her spin to look at the decorations and paintings.

 

“No masks? I distinctly remember our New Year’s Eve/Engagement party being a masquerade” She questions looking at him with an arched eyebrow.

 

“No more masks,” he says with a shake of his head. “Not between us.”

 

“That’s new,” she snarks.

 

“More like overdue.”

 

Her eyes flash to his face, searching for his sincerity, then seemingly satisfied or uninterested she turns her head back to the venue.

 

“It’s not much of a party if it’s only the two of us,” she says.

 

“Two of us is more than enough,” he knows where the comment will lead, and he wants it to go there. He’d plan to wine and dine her, but seeing her here like this, he didn’t know if he could wait.

 

“Is it?” she questions with a cock of her head. “I seem to recall it not being enough.”

 

“It always was, you were, _are_ enough. I’m the one who had the problem.”

 

“That you hid and lied to me about.”

 

She’s facing him now, arms crossed over her chest and good mood soured. There was very few words left that would keep her here.

 

“Dance with me,” he says as the song changes. It’s a slow comfortable melody, that doesn’t require a lot of thought to move too. His hand his offered out to her and she swallows as she looks at it. Should she even bother giving him a chance? If she fell into his arms would she be able to pry herself out again? She doubted it, Bruce seemed to be in rare form tonight, something she should have expected when she got that letter.

 

Against her better judgement, she slips her softer hand into his rough one. She feels the familiar thump of her heart increase in speed when it closes over hers and he pulls her closer to him. In an instant, she’s flush against his chest and his arm is wrapped around her waist guiding her through the dance.

 

They sway in silence for a moment, both relishing the feel of each other again after a long ten months apart.

 

“Even the song is the same,” she murmurs. “I can’t believe you remembered it.”

 

“Of course, I did,” he says looking down into the glistening orbs that blinked back at him. “It was one of the happiest moments of my life.”

 

She smiles with closed lips, and there isn’t an ounce of warmth that reaches her eyes. He knows why, and he knows that it’s the beginning of their issues.

 

“I pressured you that night,” he says and she raises her eyebrows in surprise. “I thought to myself ‘who wouldn’t want to get engaged to Bruce Wayne at his New Year’s Eve party. It’ll be the talk of the town.’ I didn’t care to see how uncomfortable you were.”

 

“You tried to pressure me tonight too.”

 

“The dress was too much?”

 

“A little,” she says honestly. “I don’t know where you got it though, I gave the other one away.”

 

“I had a seamstress recreate it from the photo, I wanted to recreate that night, and do it the way it should have been done.”

 

“We can’t redo that night. I’m not the little girl who is just excited to be in a princess dress and running behind Bruce Wayne. I can’t go back to that, I won’t.”

 

“I don’t want you to be,” he says as he moves a hand to her cheek and rubs it over her cheekbone. He almost lets out a sigh of relief when she leans into his touch.

 

“Then what do you want?”

 

“You.”

 

“You had me.”

 

“I know,” he says and he pulls her slightly closer so she’s pressed tightly against him, similarly to the way she’s pressed against him when they are in bed. He can feel her chest heave against his as she takes a deep breath, and he’s relieved that he still can make her nervous. That she hasn’t lost complete affection for him. “I was selfish.”

 

“Is that what you would call it?”

 

“That’s the only thing that I can think of. Everything about you is perfect and yet for some reason I couldn’t see it, or didn’t want to see it.”

 

“And that led you to cheat on me?” She questions.

 

“Maybe,” he says honestly. “I can’t tell you the reason why I did what I did. I know that Selina and I could have had something once, and even while I was doing it I knew it was wrong.”

 

“But?”

 

“But I couldn’t stop myself. I didn’t want to stop, and the only reason that I can even offer to rationalize my actions is because I knew that you would be there no matter what I did. That you would still love me no matter how much I hurt you. That I could have both. Selina and I had a bond that I should have ended the moment that I decided to be serious about my relationship with you, but instead I hid it, and it culminated into everything that happened. For that I’m sorry. I’m sorry I lied to you, and hurt you. I’m sorry I cheated on you and made you feel worthless.”

 

She has an unreadable expression on her face as she stares at him unblinkingly, but he knows she’s thinking. For a moment, he can feel his heart speed up with nerves as her silence extends, but he feels alleviated when she leans her head on his chest, ear resting above his heart.

 

“That night I was so scared, you know. In my mind, I knew you were going to propose, and I knew you were going to do it in front of all of those people. Stupidly, though, I held out the hope that you would do it when we were alone, that you’d whisk me away to some quiet corner ask then come back to make the announcement to the crowd. I would have been okay with it then. But you made it about you, and what would have looked best for you. I should have said no that night, knocked you off your high horse a little. Embarrassed the great Bruce Wayne, but I couldn’t. It was what you wanted so I gave it to you. I can’t do that anymore.”

 

“I wouldn’t want you to, and you shouldn’t have to, especially after everything I’ve put you through.”

 

She lets out a sigh of contentment, “I believe you.”

 

It’s silent for a moment as they sway back and forth to the music.

 

“If you do cheat again, there won’t be a Batman,” she says looking up at him with stern eyes. “I will literally bash your fucking head in with one of those stupid busts if you even look at that fucking woman, because that’s the only way I can think of for you to feel as much pain as I’ve been in since I found out.”

 

There is no mirth behind her eyes, not lightness to say that she is joking. He knows that the threats aren’t real and that  in actuality her words are a statement of how insecure in their relationship she feels. “I won’t, I don’t think that I’d be able to bear watching you leave again. Or that Jason would let me live.”

 

It’s quiet for a moment as she lays her head on his chest again.

 

“I couldn’t hurt you even if I wanted to,” she whispers. “I couldn’t even sleep with that guy a couple months ago, even though I should have.”

 

He’s quiet for a moment and when he feels his shirt start to feel damp he pulls her closer.

 

“How could you, Bruce?” She questions, her voice small.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“Did you cry?”

 

“What?”

 

“When I left, did you cry? When you saw me with him did you cry?”

 

“Yes,” he says with no hesitation.

 

“Good, if I was the only one that had swollen eyes that would be embarrassing.”

 

“The first time I couldn’t open my right eye because it was so big.”

 

“Frankly, I’m surprised you still have working tear ducts. Even after being with you for so long, I’m still not convinced that you aren’t part robot,” she says as she looks up at him with damp eyes, a sly smile spreads across her face.

 

“If I was, I wouldn’t need the suit.”

 

They chuckle and Bruce pulls away from her. He brings his thumbs to her cheeks and wipes away the stray tears. “I have something I want to ask you.”

 

“What?”

 

She could see his Adams apple move up and down in nervousness and she raises an eyebrow at his uneasy behavior.  When she sees him back away from her and kneel she has to put a hand over her mouth to hide her shock.

 

Feeling deep in his pocket he pulls out a small black velvet ring box. He opens the box and reveals are large princess cut diamond ring sitting in a center.

 

“Bruce-”

 

“I know we still have our own issues to workout, that this is a little soon. But I wanted to start again, from the time that should have been one of our happiest moments, but started us on the path where we’ve ended up today. These last months without you have been some of the worst in my life. No one speaks to me unless they have to, and its left me with time to myself to realize that I was the problem. That you had been there for me, giving everything that you had, but I didn’t think that I needed to give you the same.  I didn’t realize that loving someone wasn’t just about providing, and I segmented you off as just another part of the person that is Bruce Wayne. You weren’t Batman’s wife, you were Bruce Wayne’s and that you weren’t getting all of me the way I was getting all of you. So, I’m asking you to marry me again, so that I can give you the same amount of love and affection that I should have from the start.”

 

She doesn’t rush to give her answer like she did the first time.  This time, despite her love for him, she’s worried about the heartbreak that she’d have to endure again if he couldn’t keep his word. It also wasn’t just her that she had to think about either. What about the children? If this fell through a second time, did she want to have them choose between her and their father again? Not only that, despite how plagued with thoughts she was with him during her down time, she also loved some of the independence she gained by being alone. She loved the new understanding of herself she gained by being alone and doing a job that she loved.

 

“I want to quit the company,” is the phrase that tumbles past her lips. He blinks up at her rapidly, confused, and interpreting her answer as rejection.

 

“What?” He asks moving to close the box.

 

“I mean, yes, I’ll marry you, again,” she says with a roll of her eyes. She holds her empty left hand out. She hadn’t worn her wedding ring in so long that the imprint of her previous ring had long since vanished. She could feel herself smile as she admired the ring when it was slipped on her finger.

 

Bruce moved to stand.

 

“Don’t get up yet, you still have some promises to make while your down there,” she says locking eyes with him. “Perhaps quit my job is too harsh of a word. I want you to start doing your job, at least part time.”

 

“Okay?”

 

“That means that there are going to be days where you have to come home and rest, and trust the boys to do the job you trained them to do. There are going to be consecutive days where I want you to be just Bruce Wayne, just my husband, day and night.”

 

“I understand.”

 

“I’m not done yet. At the same time, when you’re gone I’m not going to be sitting home waiting for you to grace me with your presence. I won’t do that anymore.  I want to start designing again too, and that means that there will be times that I can’t be Bruce Wayne’s date, he’ll have to be mine. I bought a building downtown that I want to renovate and turn into my studio. That means I can’t be there to run your business and mine.”

 

“It won’t be an issue.”

 

“This last part you might resent me for. But we have to go to therapy for this shit.” She motions to the space between the two of them. “Nothing about our lives is normal, adding this emotional baggage on top of it is bound to make it harder, not better. Because even if I want to trust and believe you, there won’t be a moment when your gone that I won’t think that you’re not with her. Even when I know better. That distrust will breed resentment, and we’ll be back where we were ten months ago and I don’t know who it will be the one begging for forgiveness then.”

 

He pauses at the idea that a stranger may have to be involved in his personal life, something he wasn’t fond of, but she was right, the same way she always was. He nodded his agreement.

 

“If I think of something else I’ll let you know, but for now,” she moves her hands to rest on his face and she slides the pads of her thumbs across his cheekbones. “Please know, that I’ll happily marry you again.”

 

She presses a chaste kiss to his lips and quickly pulls away before he can respond, but it is honestly more than he was expecting. He stands to his full height and his arms are wrapped tightly around her waist as he buries his face in her hair. He’s holding her so tightly that she almost has to gasp in order to get air. She wants to struggle at first, push him away so she can breathe, but she finds herself pulling him closer with one hand and rubbing his back in a soothing motion with the other.

 

It’s the tears she feels roll down her shoulder that do it. For the first time in a long time they aren’t her own.  The slightly choking gasp for air isn’t her own. And the pathetic nature of his cry is startling because it’s the first time she’s experienced it and she realizes that he’d been telling the truth earlier when he’d told her he cried.

 

She feels guilty for the slight curve of her lips that is hidden in the depth of his shoulder and she’ll scold herself for it later, but right now she’s happy to know that she hadn’t been suffering alone all this time and that maybe there is a way for them to be a proper family again.

 

**Author's Note:**

> A happy ending? I never planned on having the characters break up in my head, especially when I was thinking that they have been married for ten or more years, but I also realize that their relationship couldn't be the same. I hope you enjoyed!


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